Element Based Hazards and Puzzles

[SpikeFightwicky]

Howdy folks,

I have a dungeon of sorts based on the 4 elements. I'm have some basics on hazards for navigation based on which element they are currently challenging. For extra spice, when one of the challenges is complete, it modifies the remaining ones. Like, passing the water challenge causes mud terrain in the earth challenge, heavy rain in the air challenge and solidified magma in the fire one (technically making the fire one a bit easier).

So I'm wondering what are some quick environment things that can change things up. For example:

Earth - I want there to be something bad that happens if the players are ever not on the ground. So if someone jumps, it causes a dead fall above, or the the ground opens up when they land. Same if they teleport. What are some hazards or challenges that can work to that? I was thinking of something like a 10 ft. pit with a rope tied to the ceiling. But the pit has to be climbed around. If anyone tries to use the rope (hence the character leaves the ground), the rope snaps and they fall into the pit. Or if they teleport across, they're stopped just before landing on the other side, also falling into the pit. Any other possibilities? Secrets can be found if a deadfall happens and a character falls, there will be nests of underground beasts that can hold secret stuff.

Fire - If the players wait too long in the same spot, the spot starts to get hot (and eventually burst aflame). So I want them to literally hot step it through there. I have a bridge over lava that they will want to hurry through due to a pyrohydra, but it leads into a hallway with radiant beams all over the place. What kind of "stuff" can they go through in that hallway that would make them want to take it slowly or make them stop for a round? There will be a cache of secret stuff along the base of a wall that they can find if they get very close to the lava.

Air - This one I have pretty much set. It involves floating platforms that need to be jumped to, but there will be high winds and air "spirits" that can gust of wind them. In this case, NOT jumping will cause a bit of lightning to strike. And if they fall off a platform into the swirling storm clouds below, they get "thunderstepped" back to their platform, taking a bit of thunder damage. I'd like to work the fickle and unpredictable nature of wind into this, but I'm not sure of any better way than randomly determining the wind direction every round. No idea where to put any kind of secret fun discoverables, though.

Water - This one I have set as well. It'll involve a boat moving through still waters, and they have to figure out the way to create a current to get to the next part. Staying on the boat is a bit of a red herring, and will get them hurt. No idea where to put a secret fun cache, though.

So... any ideas? I'd love a brainstorm if anyone thinks of anything!

[firelistener]

Cool dungeon idea. I like the concept of one path's success impacting another. Reminds me of the Mega Man video games where stuff like that happens.

For Earth, I think maybe pressure plates would work and be fairly obvious what's happening. Maybe there is a path of pressue plate tiles and if they aren't standing on at least one of them a boulder rushes through and hits them. Obviously, they could just leave something heavy to weigh one plate down, so you could have sweeping giant hammers or swinging blades that will knock anything off that sits still too long.

For Fire, it sounds like you could put sleeping monsters and floor traps in there. They can slowly sneak past and disarm the traps, or rush through and risk the extra dangers.

[Man_Over_Game]

For Earth, there is a division between the main room, both with weights. It "loads" the party's weight in the first room, and then checks for it in the following main room. Any time the weight is less than the loaded amount, the timer ticks down, causing spikes to slowly fall from the ceiling in specific areas, revolving walls to turn, etc. If the party's clever, they can realize they can wind the room back by adding more weight to the floor. The tricky part? Enemies get added in halfway through, and the room is the safest when it's neither wound or unwound.

For Fire, you can solve the "delaying" issues through traps. For instance, have two rows of gargoyle traps along a hallway, with dozens of gargoyles. Only some of them breathe fire and they all breathe in almost random directions. The trick is the floor. It looks solid, but it's actually glazed with an illusion spell that can be felt through (or seen through with some means) that allows the players to determine which of the steps are dangerous.

[SpikeFightwicky]

Thank you all so much for the replies!

I was getting a bit worried at the lack of responses (it was 0 replies and 1500 views at one point!)

Thanks for the feedback Firelistener! I hadn't even thought of pressure plates *facepalm*. That actually really helps, since it can be designed so that if they jump over them (leaving the ground), it causes different issues like a ceiling collapse. And like you say, as long as it's obvious what the stakes are ahead of time, it gives them opportunities to think of methods to get around beyond brute force. And I love the fire idea as well! Rush through to get past the traps, but risk waking the monsters, or go slowly and get past the monsters but risk the traps. Clever and simple!

Thank you for the ideas Man_Over_Game! Awesome earth idea! It adds a good mix of combat and thinkiness, plus a ticking clock so that they might try crazy stuff once monsters are added to the mix. I love the visual that the gargoyle room evokes! It also allows for anyone with potential resistance to just rush through and take minimal damage. I was thinking that in the fire zone, if anyone teleports, it leaves a flame trail in a direct line to wherever they went, so that it's safe for the first person, but anyone else will have to wait.

The plan is to have 2-3 challenges per element, so that rounds out fire and earth nicely.

Thanks again for the replies and keep 'em coming!